


Yellow Light

by MayQueen517



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen, Hansen Family Feels, Mild Language, Post Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-30 01:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1012327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayQueen517/pseuds/MayQueen517
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chuck pulls himself free, sitting up to prop himself up as Raleigh rolls onto his back. They both need a shave and Chuck wonders how much water they've been allowed and if it's enough for a long shower.</p>
<p>"You're gonna have to talk to him, you know."</p>
<p>"Yeah," Chuck says softly, "I will. But not right now."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yellow Light

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Missed Opportunity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010249) by [hauntedjaeger (saellys)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saellys/pseuds/hauntedjaeger). 



> So, Saellys wrote a sequel to my AU ["Everything West of Home"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009610) and then I wrote this as a sequel to "Missed Opportunity."
> 
> With me so far? 
> 
> Yeah, so, more in the universe where Herc and Mako pilot a Jaeger together. The title comes from the same song by Of Monsters and Men and I feel like it fits Chuck for this pretty damned perfectly! 
> 
> Thanks go out to Saellys for writing the AMAZING "Missed Opportunity" that inspired this and the ever wonderful verbosewordsmith for their input and making it better! <3

The last thing Chuck Hansen ever says to Mako Mori is a sneered, "Catch you in the Drift, Mori," and the expression that blossoms over her face nearly makes him take it back. His father opens his mouth, ready to say something as Chuck breezes past him, clunking down the hallway in his drive-suit to where Becket is waiting for him to climb into their Jaeger together.

Becket and him in a damned Jaeger; it's like a fucking comedy of errors. Becket doesn't say anything as they get hooked into the feedback cradle and Chuck wonders when he's gonna say something.

"Well?" Chuck spits out as Becket looks over at him, eyes wide. Chuck wonders if punching him (again) would help anything.

"Well, what?"

"Gee, I dunno, Raleigh," he says, drawing it out in the way that he knows Becket hates and even now, Becket's face twitches, "What are your plans for the future?"

"Well, I never really planned for it," Becket says with a shrug, "I guess I should start doing that, huh? Get a couch or something," he says as Chuck stares at him. There's a hint of mischief in his eyes and Chuck has a sudden memory that isn't his of Becket and Tendo laughing like idiots over something.

Chuck snorts loudly as he pulls his helmet on, shaking his head. Becket grins brightly, cheerful as everything and there's something like comfort in that smile.

"Shut up and pilot the bloody Jaeger, Becket."

===

“It's been two days. Shouldn't we be past this?” Chuck asks, flopping back on the bed as Raleigh hums thoughtfully, a grin on his face. Their legs are tangled together and Raleigh tosses an arm around him, casual and lazy and Chuck can feel the warmth and affection emanating from him. There's a part of Chuck that wants to punch him again, just once, to see if it still feels the same but instead he shifts closer.

“It's not that bad, is it?”

“Shut up, Raleigh,” Chuck mutters, tossing an arm over Raleigh's waist in return. It's been two days and Chuck doesn't – can't – think of what's happened in those two days. He presses closer to Raleigh, feeling his arms tighten and that's another thing that's happened in two days. Becket became Raleigh sometime before Chuck switched their oxygen, sending Raleigh to the top. Raleigh hasn't let go of him since his pod surfaced and it's starting to get on Chuck's nerves. It's fucking ridiculous, most of all, Chuck thinks, hearing footsteps and his Dad's voice just outside the door.

His Dad stands in the doorway and Chuck pretends to be asleep. He keeps his eyes closed and resists the urge to dig his fingers into Raleigh's back. He knows his Dad is mourning; knows his Dad is full of guilt and for a moment, Chuck entertains the idea of rolling over and talking to him.

And then he thinks of Mako's last words, echoing one of his Dad's favorite phrases and he can't.

"I just. Wanted to see how he was doing, I guess.” 

"I'll let him know when he wakes up, Sir," Raleigh says carefully. His voice is warm and hasn't changed and Chuck doesn't move when his arms tighten.

"I. Thanks, Raleigh."

"Not a problem," Raleigh says softly.

They stay silent for a moment, Chuck opening his eyes briefly. Chuck pulls himself free, sitting up to prop himself up as Raleigh rolls onto his back. They both need a shave and Chuck wonders how much water they've been allowed and if it's enough for a long shower.

"You're gonna have to talk to him, you know."

"Yeah," Chuck says softly, "I will. But not right now."

"I think now's probably the best time," Raleigh says, looking up at him and Chuck has no idea how he doesn't want to punch him right where he lays, "and before you say it, yeah, that's 'cause we've Drifted. We're sort of the same, so I get it. Just. Now _is_ probably the best time."

"We are not the same, Becket."

"Daddy issues, ego issues, piloted a giant robot alone. C'mon, you're like my clone," Raleigh says, a grin on his face as Chuck groans, shoving at him. 

"You're the worst," Chuck says, grumbling.

===

It takes two weeks. Two weeks of quietly knocking on Raleigh's door in the middle of the night and crawling into his bunk, Max trailing behind him grumpily. Raleigh seems fairly bemused by Max flopping into the bed at Raleigh's back, staking out his own space as Chuck curls against him.

Two weeks of funerals and memorials and shaking hands with people who have tears in their eyes. Chuck never knows what to say to them but luckily he's got Raleigh at his side who always knows when to say something and when to stay silent.

Two weeks of dragging Raleigh down to Striker's bay to meet the people who became his family. Sylvia laughing and smacking Chuck's cheek sharply but fondly when he grins and smarts off. Raleigh, it seems, likes her, if his stupid laughter is anything to go by when she does it to him once.

"You're gonna have to face him at some point, you know," Raleigh says, pinned between Chuck and Max. Max grumbles in his sleep, drooling over Raleigh's pillow and Chuck snorts. Chuck looks over at Raleigh, the way his fingers are tucked into a book, holding his place as he meets Chuck's eyes. Raleigh who's full of this calm energy that Chuck has no idea where it comes from; he thinks of the small and terrifyingly empty space in Raleigh's mind and he knows that's where that calm comes from. Chuck sighs, rising to prop himself up on his elbow, leaning back even as their legs stay tangled.

"And why is that?"

"Let him know you're still there."

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Chuck says as Raleigh hisses in a breath. Chuck closes his eyes and feels like an asshole. Raleigh doesn't say anything and the room is silent for a long moment with Max snorting in his sleep, taking up more room than should be possible for a slightly overweight bulldog.

"Yeah," Chuck murmurs, shifting away from Raleigh, "I guess I should," he says as Raleigh watches him stand. It's not all that late, he thinks, checking the clock on Raleigh's nightstand. Chuck looks back at Raleigh who gives him a brief, easy smile and rubs Max's chest lightly.

"You don't have to, Chuck."

"Yeah, actually, Raleigh, I do," Chuck says watching Raleigh smile and nod, as he steps out of the room.

He walks through the Shatterdome, finding Tendo sitting with some of the LOCCENT techs, all of them hunched over cups of coffee, talking quietly. They fall silent when he approaches, clearing his throat.

"Your Dad's on Striker's catwalk," Tendo says easily, saving him the trouble of having to ask. Chuck sighs quietly, shaking his head as Tendo stands, clapping him on the arm, "Ali left the door open, just in case," Tendo says, tossing a wave to the techs and Chuck as he walks off.

Chuck stands, useless for a moment before one of the techs clears her throat in the awkward and heavy silence.

"We have some food set aside for him. You can go ask one of the cooks for it," she says carefully as Chuck blinks, unsure even as he nods. The plate is covered and still warm as Chuck holds onto it, walking out to the catwalk. 

Herc Hansen is the probably best man Chuck has ever met and there are times when Chuck wonders how long it's been since he's thought about that. Probably, he thinks, right about the time when he was a kid and his Dad was everything for him. He stands in the doorway, a plate of food in his hand for his old man who he hasn't had a decent conversation with since Chuck and Mako had gotten picked to begin simulations. 

"Oi, old man," Chuck says without rancor, walking out onto the catwalk and standing beside him. He joins his Dad on the catwalk, sitting beside him with their legs dangling off the edges, a plate of food between them.

"Don't call me that," he says in a rough voice, like he hasn't talked for days. Chuck knows that's not right but when he looks over at his Dad he doesn't feel anger, he can only think of pity and think of Raleigh and feeling his emotions after he lost Yancy. He wonders if Drifting with Raleigh changed him for the better but he and his Dad aren't yelling at each other yet, so there's a chance for it.

"You need to eat," Chuck says, "You're not doing her a damned favor if you starve," he says and it's the first time Chuck has talked about Mako since Operation Pitfall. His Dad's eyes snap to his face and Chuck can see the stubble that's grown into a ragged beard and guilt settles into his gut at having ignored his Dad for so long. 

"'m not hungry."

"Bullshit," Chuck says with a snort as his Dad sighs. He thinks of Raleigh again, of the days where he forgot to eat because he tried to forget everything after Yancy.

"She'd punch your fucking lights out if she knew you weren't eating," Chuck says, trying a different tactic as his Dad starts before huffing out a laugh. Chuck shakes his head, remembering the times when he and Mako had fought, remembering the way her eyes had lingered on the cuts on his cheek from the fight with Raleigh. 

"She'd have punched you too."

"Well, yeah," Chuck says as they share a glance before Chuck shakes his head "Look, I've got regrets about it. Raleigh thinks we should talk and he's not a complete idiot, yeah? But if you're gonna mope around and not eat then fuck it. I'm gonna go get some sle-"

"Chuck," his Dad says, cutting him off, "would you just shut up for a minute and sit with me?"

Chuck swallows hard, wanting to get up and leave and simply not have this conversation. Instead, he sighs heavily and stays where he is, looking over at his Dad who's beginning to eat slowly. He leans forward, propping his arms on the railing to look out over the empty Shatterdome.

"Doesn't seem right," his Dad murmurs as Chuck sighs.

"What? Me here and her not?"

"That they're not _all_ sitting here with us," his Dad says, a touch of exasperation coloring his tone. Chuck doesn't know what to say to that and wishes for a moment that Raleigh were here instead. 

A group of techs have an ancient radio set up, playing some god-awful Ukrainian Hard House that makes Chuck think of Sasha and Aleksis and he laughs quietly. He watches the techs packing tools up, placing them in their cases reverently and it's too much. Chuck can't think of these Jaegers without thinking about loss, without thinking about Mako and his last words to his best friend. 

"Raleigh told me," Chuck starts before he shakes his head, clearing his throat as his Dad watches him, "Raleigh told me that I should let you know I'm still here."

"And are you?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Chuck blurts out before he can help himself. He closes his eyes, rubbing his face with his hands as he hears his Dad breathing hard.

"Christ, Chuck."

"Yeah," Chuck says, pinching the bridge of his nose hard, "Look, I'm shit at this. But I'm here. It's not much but I'm here."

Herc Hansen is a good man, Chuck thinks, watching a pained smile cross his Dad's face as he nods, leaving both of them in a comfortable silence watching over the empty Shatterdome.


End file.
